Costco interested in 3rd Halifax location, but municipal roadblocks in the way

A third Costco location in Nova Scotia, the sixth for the Maritimes, is creating quite the buzz on social media.

However, the developer for the possible Middle Sackville location wants to make it clear that the retailer won’t be coming anytime soon.

“So, I’m here to say that Costco is extremely interested in this site,” says Marc Ouellet, the senior planning manager with Armco Capital, the developer of the area. “They’ve selected this as their third location.

“The problem is it’s not going to happen overnight… or even at all.”

During a town hall meeting in Lower Sackville on Monday, Sept. 15, Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore reignited rumours that the retailer will be coming to Middle Sackville. Rumours initially circulated back in the spring.

In a statement to Global News, Fillmore adds, “This is still at a very early stage, but as I understand it, Costco is exploring the possibility of opening a third store in HRM, with this location as the leading candidate. That’s a strong signal that a major business wants to invest here, and now our job is to ensure the site is ready to make that happen.”

The councillor for the area, John Young, took to social media to clarify that a third Costco is not a guarantee.

“There are discussions, there will be a future community meeting to discuss and get feedback from the community for the potential possibility of a COSTCO in Middle Sackville but there is no confirmation of a COSTCO in Middle Sackville,” he writes.

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Ouellet says the municipality is preventing the store from breaking ground, with zoning needing to be re-evaluated and the urban service boundary expanded to allow access to municipal water and wastewater utilities.

“So this is the only jurisdiction I know in Canada that you have Costco at the table, and you have municipal officials putting roadblocks in front of them,” he adds.

A spokesperson with HRM says staff can’t comment on the situation, but notes council went with staff recommendations during a June 19th council meeting to exclude changes to the development site from the regional plan.

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